Chapter 1 of The Weird Picture is here in full — 273 sentences across 55 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter I
Chapter 1 of The Weird Picture is here in full — 273 sentences across 55 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
THE RED STAIN "BELGRAVE SQUARE, _November 28th_. "DEAR FRANK,--Surely you are not going to spend a third Christmas at Heidelberg! We want you with us in good old England. My marriage with Daphne is fixed for Christmas Day, and I shall not regard the ceremony as valid unless you are my best man. So come--_come_--COME!
Chapter 1 of The Weird Picture is here in full — 273 sentences across 55 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/54 · 5 reading units · Lines 1–5
These definitions explain words found in the current reading and keep every example grounded in its original sentence.
Oxford-style entry order: headword, part of speech, US IPA, concise definition, contextual example, and audio.
a formal event performed on a special occasion
From this reading “My marriage with Daphne is fixed for Christmas Day, and I shall not regard the ceremony as valid unless you are my best man.”
period extending from Dec. 24 to Jan. 6
From this reading “"DEAR FRANK,--Surely you are not going to spend a third Christmas at Heidelberg!”
any of several ornamental shrubs with shiny mostly evergreen leaves and clusters of small bell-shaped flowers
From this reading “My marriage with Daphne is fixed for Christmas Day, and I shall not regard the ceremony as valid unless you are my best man.”
the month following October and preceding December
(usually preceded by “in”) a detail or point
From this reading “My marriage with Daphne is fixed for Christmas Day, and I shall not regard the ceremony as valid unless you are my best man.”
use up a period of time in a specific way
From this reading “"DEAR FRANK,--Surely you are not going to spend a third Christmas at Heidelberg!”
a soiled or discolored appearance
From this reading “THE RED STAIN "BELGRAVE SQUARE, _November 28th_.”
well grounded in logic or truth or having legal force
From this reading “My marriage with Daphne is fixed for Christmas Day, and I shall not regard the ceremony as valid unless you are my best man.”
English keeps certain words together, and knowing the pair is worth more than knowing each word alone. Every partnership below was counted across our whole published library, and earns its place by appearing far more often than two unrelated words of the same frequency would.
Shown as this reading writes them, with the form the library counts, what kind of pairing it is, and how often it occurs.
In this reading “THE RED STAIN "BELGRAVE SQUARE, _November 28th_.”
Every word in these five lines is listed here, and every one of them can be played on its own.
Dictionary details are shown only when verified; these are not licensed Oxford entries.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading THE RED STAIN "BELGRAVE SQUARE, _November 28th_.
used before a singular noun to mean one of a group, when it is not a particular one
From this reading "DEAR FRANK,--Surely you are not going to spend a third Christmas at Heidelberg!
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading My marriage with Daphne is fixed for Christmas Day, and I shall not regard the ceremony as valid unless you are my best man.
the form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading "DEAR FRANK,--Surely you are not going to spend a third Christmas at Heidelberg!
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading My marriage with Daphne is fixed for Christmas Day, and I shall not regard the ceremony as valid unless you are my best man.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading "DEAR FRANK,--Surely you are not going to spend a third Christmas at Heidelberg!
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading THE RED STAIN "BELGRAVE SQUARE, _November 28th_.
the supreme effort one can make
From this reading My marriage with Daphne is fixed for Christmas Day, and I shall not regard the ceremony as valid unless you are my best man.
a formal event performed on a special occasion
From this reading My marriage with Daphne is fixed for Christmas Day, and I shall not regard the ceremony as valid unless you are my best man.
period extending from Dec. 24 to Jan. 6
From this reading "DEAR FRANK,--Surely you are not going to spend a third Christmas at Heidelberg!
move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading So come--_come_--COME!
any of several ornamental shrubs with shiny mostly evergreen leaves and clusters of small bell-shaped flowers
From this reading My marriage with Daphne is fixed for Christmas Day, and I shall not regard the ceremony as valid unless you are my best man.
time for Earth to make a complete rotation on its axis
From this reading My marriage with Daphne is fixed for Christmas Day, and I shall not regard the ceremony as valid unless you are my best man.
dearly loved
From this reading "DEAR FRANK,--Surely you are not going to spend a third Christmas at Heidelberg!
a division of the United Kingdom
From this reading We want you with us in good old England.
(of a number) having a fixed and unchanging value
From this reading My marriage with Daphne is fixed for Christmas Day, and I shall not regard the ceremony as valid unless you are my best man.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading My marriage with Daphne is fixed for Christmas Day, and I shall not regard the ceremony as valid unless you are my best man.
characterized by directness in manner or speech; without subtlety or evasion
From this reading "DEAR FRANK,--Surely you are not going to spend a third Christmas at Heidelberg!
the act of departing
From this reading "DEAR FRANK,--Surely you are not going to spend a third Christmas at Heidelberg!
having desirable or positive qualities especially those suitable for a thing specified
From this reading We want you with us in good old England.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "DEAR FRANK,--Surely you are not going to spend a third Christmas at Heidelberg!
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading My marriage with Daphne is fixed for Christmas Day, and I shall not regard the ceremony as valid unless you are my best man.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading We want you with us in good old England.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading My marriage with Daphne is fixed for Christmas Day, and I shall not regard the ceremony as valid unless you are my best man.
an adult person who is male (as opposed to a woman)
From this reading My marriage with Daphne is fixed for Christmas Day, and I shall not regard the ceremony as valid unless you are my best man.
the state of being a married couple voluntarily joined for life (or until divorce)
From this reading My marriage with Daphne is fixed for Christmas Day, and I shall not regard the ceremony as valid unless you are my best man.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading My marriage with Daphne is fixed for Christmas Day, and I shall not regard the ceremony as valid unless you are my best man.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading "DEAR FRANK,--Surely you are not going to spend a third Christmas at Heidelberg!
the month following October and preceding December
From this reading THE RED STAIN "BELGRAVE SQUARE, _November 28th_.
(used especially of persons) having lived for a relatively long time or attained a specific age
From this reading We want you with us in good old England.
red color or pigment; the chromatic color resembling the hue of blood
From this reading THE RED STAIN "BELGRAVE SQUARE, _November 28th_.
(usually preceded by “in”) a detail or point
From this reading My marriage with Daphne is fixed for Christmas Day, and I shall not regard the ceremony as valid unless you are my best man.
used with I and we for the future, or to offer and suggest
From this reading My marriage with Daphne is fixed for Christmas Day, and I shall not regard the ceremony as valid unless you are my best man.
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading So come--_come_--COME!
use up a period of time in a specific way
From this reading "DEAR FRANK,--Surely you are not going to spend a third Christmas at Heidelberg!
make square
From this reading THE RED STAIN "BELGRAVE SQUARE, _November 28th_.
a soiled or discolored appearance
From this reading THE RED STAIN "BELGRAVE SQUARE, _November 28th_.
definitely or positively (“sure” is sometimes used informally for “surely”)
From this reading "DEAR FRANK,--Surely you are not going to spend a third Christmas at Heidelberg!
the fifth day of the week; the fourth working day
From this reading THE RED STAIN "BELGRAVE SQUARE, _November 28th_.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading THE RED STAIN "BELGRAVE SQUARE, _November 28th_.
one of three equal parts of a divisible whole
From this reading "DEAR FRANK,--Surely you are not going to spend a third Christmas at Heidelberg!
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading "DEAR FRANK,--Surely you are not going to spend a third Christmas at Heidelberg!
except if; if not
From this reading My marriage with Daphne is fixed for Christmas Day, and I shall not regard the ceremony as valid unless you are my best man.
the speaker and others, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading We want you with us in good old England.
well grounded in logic or truth or having legal force
From this reading My marriage with Daphne is fixed for Christmas Day, and I shall not regard the ceremony as valid unless you are my best man.
feel or have a desire for; want strongly
From this reading We want you with us in good old England.
the speaker together with one or more other people
From this reading We want you with us in good old England.
in the company of; together with
From this reading We want you with us in good old England.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading "DEAR FRANK,--Surely you are not going to spend a third Christmas at Heidelberg!
Chapter 1 of The Weird Picture by John R. Carling holds 273 sentences, grouped into 55 reading sections of at most 5 sentences. The text is the source edition, unabridged, and the chapter records which sentences cover which part of the work so that nothing is dropped. Every word can be tapped for its pronunciation and dictionary entry.
Chapter 1 holds 273 sentences of The Weird Picture, unabridged, divided into 55 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of The Weird Picture by John R. Carling exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 273 sentences, grouped into 55 sections of at most 5 sentences so that a reader can take the chapter in steady, finishable pieces. The chapter also stores a coverage record mapping every one of its sentences to a part of the work, which is how the edition demonstrates that no line was dropped.
Work through the 55 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 55 sections in this chapter is short enough to read once, hear once, and then re-read with the vocabulary in view. Tapping a word plays it alone and opens its dictionary entry with IPA, part of speech and meaning, so the reader is never forced to guess a pronunciation from spelling. Working section by section keeps a long chapter from becoming an undifferentiated wall of text, which is the usual reason a reader abandons a work of this period.
Yes — every sentence and every individual word in chapter 1 can be played aloud in United States English.
Audio covers the whole chapter: any sentence can be played, and any single word within it can be played on its own. The voice uses United States English. For a work of this period that matters, because spelling is an unreliable guide to pronunciation for vocabulary that has fallen out of daily use, and a learner who guesses wrong tends to keep the error. Hearing the word in its own sentence, and then alone, settles it.
Common questions about reading The Weird Picture by John R. Carling on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 4931 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #61141 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #61141, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 410 minutes of reading across 987 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Weird Picture section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 15 chapters of The Weird Picture to begin.
Each section holds 5 sentences; read it once through.
Play the section aloud, then tap any unfamiliar word for its entry.
Words and structures a reader meets early in The Weird Picture, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
